Fates Divided: Halven Rising

Apparently, Mateo decided he wasn’t that tired after all, or he simply didn’t trust Derek alone with Elena. And Derek didn’t blame the guy. The way Derek was beginning to feel about Elena, he didn’t trust himself around her either.

Mateo’s interrupting them earlier was one of the few things that could have splashed cold water on him. Derek would have stopped if she’d wanted him to, but she didn’t seem any more eager to end what they’d started than he was.

He’d always been attracted to his pretty neighbor, but now that he knew her, his attraction had grown tenfold.

After spending an hour trapped in Reese’s bedroom, trying to keep his mind off inappropriate thoughts about Elena while her cousin surfed his phone two feet away, Derek decided to slip out and check on the cranky lovebirds.

He waited until he was in the hallway to Blend. No need to give Elena’s cousin a heart attack.

Entering the living room, he found Reese standing behind the couch with Keen leaning over her, his body tense. Keen said something quietly and Reese’s eyes widened. She wasn’t tall, and looked even smaller in front of Keen. That didn’t stop her from bending her knees and driving a perfectly formed punch to his stomach.

Derek jerked forward, prepared to stop the fight Elena had called, then halted.

Because Keen, in some ninja Fae move, had caught Reese’s fist before she made contact.

The Fae pinned her arm behind her back and yanked her to his chest. “Little one,” he said in a cool, serious tone, “I like your spirit, but do not attempt to best me. There is no comparison.”

He cradled her head with his other hand and drew his face down as if to kiss her. Only instead of kissing her, he stopped above her lips and dipped his face into the crook of her neck.

Reese’s body trembled, her breaths growing shallow.

Derek didn’t know what the hell he was witnessing, but he didn’t think it was disgust—more like lust.

Keen released her arm and skimmed his hand down her ribcage and waist.

Derek should leave, give them privacy, but there were some serious sparks flying, and not all of them romantic. He waited another second just to be sure Reese was okay.

A scowl came over her face and she shoved Keen away.

The Fae stepped back and turned from her, his hands low on his hips, head bent as he seemed to collect himself. He appeared stunned, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d done.

Neither could Derek. He knew Keen liked Reese, but this was intense.

Reese stormed past Keen and grabbed her keys and purse from the counter. She walked out the front door—in her slippers.

Shit. Elena was right. This was a bad idea. No more leaving Keen and Reese alone together. These two were volatile.

Keen’s head rose and he stared over his shoulder at the door, then glanced at the hallway, as though trying to decide if he should run after Reese or stay and protect Elena.

Keen couldn’t leave Elena to run after Reese. Elena was too important to his people.

He must have determined that as well, because he strode to the window and slammed a fist against the frame. The impact sent a tremor through the walls, rattling the glasses in the cupboards.

The Fae had serious strength. Nothing like causing a minor earthquake to impress people.

Keen turned and strode toward Derek, stopping a couple of feet from Derek’s invisible form. His mouth tensed. “Begone, Halven.”

Damn. Could all Fae see him?

That was a nuisance. How was he going to spy on them if they all knew where he was? Even Elena could see him.

Derek heeded Keen’s warning and returned to Reese’s bedroom, where he’d left Elena and Mateo. Only Mateo was gone and Elena had fallen asleep.

Mateo must have given up his big-brother vigilance and gone into Elena’s room to crash for the night.

Elena’s head was propped against the headboard and slightly tilted to the side, a magazine lying loosely in her hands. Derek considered giving her privacy, but where would he go? Keen would kill him if he returned to the living room, and Derek wasn’t leaving the house. He’d already decided to stay by Elena’s side until this was all over.

Derek took off her shoes and removed the magazines from her lap, somehow managing to get her under the covers without waking her. She had to be exhausted. They’d left Emain early tonight, but she was still depleted from all the training.

He peered around the room, thinking about what he’d witnessed. He was worried about Reese. She’d probably gone to a friend’s house, but he didn’t know that for sure. He felt like an ass for disregarding Elena’s worries about leaving Reese with the Fae.

How could Keen screw things up so badly? Hard to imagine Keen didn’t have game, with his passable looks. The sparks had flown between them before Reese fled the house. Maybe the Fae wasn’t the only one fighting an attraction?

Derek shook his head. It was obvious they’d get no information from Keen. Whatever secrets the Fae hid, neither Keen nor Leo seemed inclined to share. It had been a long shot to think Reese could befriend Keen. Attempting it had only made the tension around Elena greater.

Their best move was to focus on building Elena’s powers, only Derek hadn’t wanted to think about what that meant. If Elena was right about the Tertullian Codex and she needed to travel to the Fae realm, what kind of danger would that put her in?

Worried for Elena and unable to sleep, Derek checked his phone for messages.

His father had called. Twice.

“Derek.” His father’s cultured voice rang out in the voice message. “Good news. I bumped into Philip Rand at a humanitarian luncheon last week. I may have boasted of your accomplishments at Dawson, and, well, in short, Rand believes he could get you admitted into the program this late in the semester. He says they’re always open to exceptional students. I wanted to let you know right away in case you’ve changed your mind about finishing off your education at Dawson.

“Your mother and I understand you wanted to go in a different direction from cardiovascular health, but please consider this opportunity. Not only is it an Ivy League school, but Rand says he could find you a private lab to continue your work if you wanted. You’d also be near your mother and me, which would make your mom happy. Call us when you get this message, son. I’m eager to talk to you.”

Derek rubbed his eyes. He loved his parents, and part of him longed to share his secret with them. But if his admission about who he really was went badly, he could lose his family forever.

Portia hadn’t lied. His adoptive parents weren’t forward-thinking. They were conservative politically and socially. Derek had already lost his biological parents. He didn’t want to lose his adoptive family too. And there was no reason for that to happen. As long as he did what the Fae asked, he could keep his secret.

Limbs and mind suddenly heavy, Derek walked over and pulled the covers up to Elena’s chin. He lay down beside her and studied her profile. The elegant line of her cheekbone, her smooth, baby-soft skin. A strand of wavy hair had fallen across her lips, fluttering with each exhalation.

Derek had put up walls when he realized what he was, but Elena had caught his attention even after that. He’d told her the truth when he said he didn’t peep on her and her roommate. But his intentions were never totally platonic. The more he’d watched her from afar, the more beautiful she became to him. And now, it felt like she had a piece of him.

It was terrifying as hell.

Derek let out an exhausted breath and sank deeper into the mattress. His hand slipped across the bed like a magnet toward her body until his index finger brushed her bent knee. He closed his eyes and sleep took over.